July 18, 2003

LCS contracts awardedThe following three companies are each being awarded a firm-fixed-price contract for the performance of Flight 0 Littoral Combat Ship Preliminary Design: General Dynamics - Bath Iron Works, Bath, Maine ($8,900,000); Lockheed Martin Naval Electronics & Surveillance Systems - Surface Systems, Washington, D.C. ($9,993,359); Raytheon Company, Integrated Defense Systems, Portsmouth, R.I. ($9,996,124). Each contractor will perform a preliminary design effort to refine its proposed Littoral Combat Ship concept. The Littoral Combat Ship will be a networked, agile, and high-speed surface combatant with versatile warfighting capabilities optimized for littoral missions. Work will be performed in Bath, Maine, Arlington, Va., Mobile, Ala., Rockville, Md., Washington, D.C., Lockport, La., Marinette, Wis., Portsmouth, R.I., Alexandria, Va., and Jacksonville, Fla., and is expected to be completed in February 2004. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. These contracts were competitively awarded through a full and open competition, with six offers received. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity (N00024-03-C-2310, 2311 and 2312 respectively.)

RAYTHEON
The Raytheon-led Team LCS concept is decribd as a fast, agile, focused mission ship "Seaframe" enabled by an assortment of advanced unmanned vehicles and aviation assets to counter littoral asymmetric threats.

"We are thrilled that the U.S. Navy has chosen our team to continue developing its Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) concept," said Ed Franklin, president of Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems. "Our mission integration solutions, innovative technologies and collaborative ship systems design are key enablers that will deliver a ship that meets the demanding requirement of our U.S. Navy customer."

"Serving as the innovator of a fully integrated LCS solution," says a Raytheon press release, "Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems will lead Team LCS as mission systems integrator with responsibility for mission analysis, systems architecture and ship systems integration. Raytheon's proven process and skill in collaborative ship systems integration with a shipyard, as demonstrated by the success of LPD-17, and in the application of proven open architecture and technological approaches, as seen in DD(X) infusion, are critical contributors to the consortium's success."

GENERAL DYNAMICS
GD's Bath Iron Works leads an international team that includes General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems, General Dynamics Canada, General Dynamics Electric Boat, Austal USA, BAE Systems, CAE of Canada, Maritime Applied Physics Corporation, and Qinetiq of the United Kingdom.

GD says the team will further develop its trimaran concept based upon Austal's innovative, high-speed commercial ship design.

"The flexibility, speed, endurance, volume, seakeeping, payload capacity, and maneuvering characteristics of the trimaran," says GD, "coupled with modular mission packages and other modifications to address military-specific requirements, provide an optimal solution for the Navy's LCS requirements. These same characteristics make the BIW-led team's trimaran concept applicable to a wide variety of other domestic and international navy, coastal defense, and high-speed logistics support programs."

LOCKHEED MARTIN
The Lockheed Martin Littoral Combat Ship (LCS), named Sea Blade(TM), is described as "a fast, affordable, low-risk approach designed to dominate the shallow waters surrounding an enemy's shores - one of the greatest challenges facing the Navy. LCS is the Navy's number one budget priority and is a key element of its Sea Power 21 strategic vision for defending the nation and projecting offensive naval operations.

Principal members on the Lockheed Martin team include naval architect Gibbs & Cox and mid-market ship builders Bollinger Shipyards and Marinette Marine. This team provides the Navy with a proven capability to deliver innovative industry approaches to the design, development and construction of LCS at an affordable price.

"Our team is pleased and proud to be selected for the LCS preliminary design phase and to be supporting the Navy in this vital program," said Fred Moosally, president of Lockheed Martin's Naval Electronics & Surveillance Systems business. "We are focused on the Navy's requirements and already hard at work to deliver the best solution for LCS. We have a talented, multi- national team with the experience and ability to get the job done and exceed the customer's expectations."

Lockheed Martin serves as prime contractor for its team's Sea Blade(TM) design. Key attributes of the design include low cost, low risk, high speed, shallow draft, maneuverability, and a capacity to accommodate the full range of focused mission packages to defeat enemy mines, fast swarming small boats, diesel-electric submarines and other threats. Lockheed Martin also will have responsibilities as the systems and modularity architect, and lead the overall program management and cost analysis work.

Gibbs & Cox, Inc. is responsible for the overall seaframe design, including integration of the hull, mechanical and electrical systems. Specializing in surface combatant design and integration, Gibbs & Cox, Inc., brings more than 70 years of naval engineering expertise to the LCS program. Ships on active duty in nearly 20 navies around the globe, including 60 percent of the U.S. Navy's surface combatant fleet, are built to Gibbs & Cox, Inc. designs. The firm also provides engineering and design support directly to the U.S. Navy in early phase design and development of future systems for the Navy's surface combatant fleet.

Bollinger Shipyards and Marinette Marine will employ proven materials and construction techniques that have successfully delivered more than 190 ships on time and on budget in the last 10 years. These mid-size shipyards are ideally suited and optimally sized for building LCS class ships. Combined, Bollinger Shipyards and Marinette Marine have built more than 135 ships for the Navy and Coast Guard.

Using an open business model, the Lockheed Martin LCS team will continue to recruit "best of breed" technical specialists from the U.S. and abroad.

"The Lockheed Martin LCS team combines leadership in all aspects of ship construction, design and program management," said Carol Hulgus, vice president of programs for Lockheed Martin's Naval Electronics & Surveillance Systems. "The result is a design that will provide the Navy with a focused, networked, lethal warship for the asymmetric littoral threat environment."